Dyslexia? Now a book worm?

[OneRoomSchoolHouse]

Well, I have had an appointment set up for 2 weeks to have my dd(7) interviewed, and maybe tested for Dyslexia. She has been having a little trouble reading and I have been asking her to read only 10 pages a day from an Abeka reader. She has moaned and groaned about reading those 10 pages everyday. I was a complete book worm and it has been hard for me to understand that she doesn't share the same passion for books. So, I decided to immerse her in the reading world. I bought several different books from series recommened for her reading level. She still showed no interest. We went to the Library and I got the Magic Tree House on CD for her to listen to while she follows along in the books. She enjoyed listening, but still wasn't all that "into" reading. I then got some more books on CDs to listen to during bedtime. THEN, yesterday we pulled out a new Abeka reader and she read her assigned pages, then asked if she could read more..."Sure!!!!" I said. She then said "Could I read the whole book if I wanted to?"..."YES!!". She read 60 pages from the reader then picked up a Magic Tree House book and read 6 chapters. She was reading in the car and at the table! Yeah!! Now, my only question is if I should still have her tested for Dyslexia. She has all the symptoms of Dysgraphia. My mom said that there was an article in HSLDA that talked about having your kids "labeled" as Dyslexic at an early age could cause problems with the government, etc. I have heard that there are programs out there that we could do at home (and maybe not have her officially tested). Since I think her problem now is more with writing than reading, what should I try?

[LizzyBee]

The following websites have been very helpful for me:

http://www.visualspatial.org

http://www.mislabeledchild.com

http://www.add-dys.com

 

I also like the following books:

The Mislabeled Child

The Edison Trait

Right Brained Kids In a Left Brained World

 

A kid can learn to read and still have dyslexia. It's a question of how the brain is wired and which parts of the brain are being used for reading. A child who struggles with spelling in spite of learning to read may be dyslexic. If you find learning strategies that work, testing may be of limited usefulness. OTOH, testing can help you pinpoint specific areas of weakness so that you know whether there are specific therapies that may or may not be helpful.

 

I have one kid who is mildly dyslexic. She learned to read on the late side but within normal parameters. However, she still struggles with spelling and math computation. She also has a hard time sticking with books that have dense print. One thing that testing will do for her is begin a paper trail that will help us get accomodations for the SAT test, if we feel like she still needs accomodations at that stage.

 

My youngest has moderate to severe dyslexia. She has multiple processing issues and has had a variety of therapies. Testing helped us decide which therapies to pursue, which to consider for later, and which ones would probably not be helpful.

[cathmom]

My older dd, who will be 13 next month, learned to read at age 7. She has always liked reading and a couple of days ago told me, "But, Mom! I live to read!" when I told her not to start another book - it was like 10 PM. She has moderate to severe dyslexia though and dysgraphia also. Even though I thought she was on grade level with reading and that her comprehension was fine, she tested 2 grade levels behind last summer.

[boymama]

My 8yo dyslexic reading haltingly and finds spelling a challenge. he memorizes his spelling list and therefore cannot spell when he needs to use the same words in his writing.

[SwimmyKids]

My mom said that there was an article in HSLDA that talked about having your kids "labeled" as Dyslexic at an early age could cause problems with the government, etc. I have heard that there are programs out there that we could do at home (and maybe not have her officially tested). Since I think her problem now is more with writing than reading, what should I try?

 

Having your child "labeled" as dyslexic causing problems with the government?! Baloney. That sounds a little too conspiracy theory to me. If you have testing set up, include some writing evaluation and see what's going on. Dyslexics read, they just read at a different pace, and they learn to read using methods different from those of kids w/o dyslexia. There's nothing wrong with having dyslexia (in fact, there are quite a few cool things that traditionally go along with dyslexia and that your daughter might not have if she didn't also have dyslexia), so don't worry about labeling her.

 

Maybe with a dyslexia diagnosis she'll have to overcome a few more hurdles when she applies to Navy flight school. Maybe not. But good Lord, don't NOT have her tested b/o a conspiracy theory.

[Laurie4b]

My mom said that there was an article in HSLDA that talked about having your kids "labeled" as Dyslexic at an early age could cause problems with the government, etc. I have heard that there are programs out there that we could do at home (and maybe not have her officially tested). Since I think her problem now is more with writing than reading, what should I try?

 

Having your child "labeled" as dyslexic causing problems with the government?! Baloney. That sounds a little too conspiracy theory to me. If you have testing set up, include some writing evaluation and see what's going on. Dyslexics read, they just read at a different pace, and they learn to read using methods different from those of kids w/o dyslexia. There's nothing wrong with having dyslexia (in fact, there are quite a few cool things that traditionally go along with dyslexia and that your daughter might not have if she didn't also have dyslexia), so don't worry about labeling her.

 

Maybe with a dyslexia diagnosis she'll have to overcome a few more hurdles when she applies to Navy flight school. Maybe not. But good Lord, don't NOT have her tested b/o a conspiracy theory.

 

I agree. I think it's baloney. Vice President Rockefeller was an acknowledged dyslexic. I am willing to bet that Bush is dyslexic as well. (His garbling syllables, having trouble with word retrieval, etc. is very characteristic of dyslexics.) Charles Schwartz is an acknowledged dyslexic.

 

The only thing I know of that could possibly support what the HSLDA said was that in PA (and perhaps another state or two?) there can be more stringent requirements for parents educating a child with special needs at home.

[homefront]

Trust me, the government has no issue.. PS don't like to go through the red tape if the child can pass standardized test. In some states it cost more to accommodate the child than federal aid.

 

A dyslexic

[Elizabeth Conley]

Yes, having your child labeled as dyslexic is potentially problematic.

 

1. If your child is in public school, you will find that a significant percentage of the educators she interacts with will see her as a diagnosis, not an individual. The educator will then encourage/accept counterproductive behaviors in your child, and either discourage or ignore desirable behaviors. As an example: A teacher who was convinced my son had a learning disability insisted he must add and subtract on his fingers, rather than using the facts he had memorized over the summer. (Can you imagine my frustration and fury? I majored in Mathematics. I was hot!)

 

2. Is Dyslexia a mental illness or psychiatric condition? If it is, it may effect your child's qualifications for military service or various government jobs. "Have you ever been diagnosed with a mental illness or psychiatric condition?" is a question present on every government application I've ever seen. (Don't assume your kid will never serve. You really and truly don't know where life will take her.)

 

3. As people with learning disabilities mature, they generally become quite cautious about who they choose to confide in with regard to their handicap. If the condition is a matter of public record, the right to privacy is frequently negated.

 

My advice is that you should get the child tested privately, and make the results of the test a tool to help you educate your child and your child understand him/herself. Do not permit the results of the test to be a way for indifferent strangers or the government to limit your child's opportunities.

 

Ask a few adults with learning disabilities whether they choose to use their diagnosis to leverage accommodations in college. You'll find the vast majority of them will say "No way!" The lessons of growing up labeled indicate that the best strategy is to keep the diagnosis as a tool for the adult student, not the institution. For those who choose to use the diagnosis and get accommodations, ask them "How's that working out for you?" in their senior year.

 

Head's up! If you get a certification through testing that was given under some sort of accommodation, that is listed on the certificate. Employers justifiably wonder if the applicant is as qualified as the herd of applicants who simply passed the certification process in the normal fashion.

 

Your daughter is already finding her own learning style. I learned to read in roughly the same way your daughter did. Which is to say late, but overnight. This puts your child on par with or ahead of the pack in the final analysis. It's stressful to teach kids who learn like this. (Ask me how I know!) It's also rewarding. When they get it, they've got it for life and they know what to do with it.

 

My suggestion is that you accommodate your daughter's learning style in the following way: go to your public library's website and put the first 5 Magic Tree House series books on hold. Pick them up ASAP. Your daughter is going to get a lot of age appropriate information from these books. When she becomes interested in another author or genre, accommodate the new interest. Feeding her need for reading material will head off some of the learning challenges you have yet to uncover.

 

Unless it's severe, dyslexia isn't so much a disability as a learning style. Dyslexics tend to be whole-to-parts learners, while many fashionable curriculums are parts-to-whole. Parts-to-whole curriculums drive whole-to-parts thinkers stark staring mad with frustration, particularly if they're bright. From the way your daughter learned to read, I suspect she's this type of person. Observe which educational activities are productive for her and which are simply mind numbing, and respond accordingly.

 

Don't assume specialists in learning disabilities have all the answers for your child. They don't know your kid, they know the diagnoses. Get to know your kid, give her what she needs to succeed, and ignore the diagnoses.

[Ottakee]

At 7, I would wait if she is showing great strides in reading.

 

Check out http://3rsplus.com/ for some WONDERFUL reading books that are very systematic in their teaching and used for LD kids. The yahoo group for the books is very helpful as well and is full of reading specialists, tutors and homeschooling parents from around the world. Likely she could start with a higher level of these books but make sure to use the placement test so she doesn't miss out on any of the lower level skills.

[Elizabeth Conley]

PS- advocates of diagnoses and labeling will be quick to retro-diagnose various successful people with all sorts of conditions, everything from Asperger's to Dyslexia.

 

Yawn! Whatever. We all know people with learning disabilities are often very successful.

 

More to the point, why are these people successful? I submit to you that the vast majority of them are not successful because they have been accommodated into mediocrity all their lives. They are successful because they're used to solving their own problems and working harder and smarter than the people around them.

 

It's one thing to point to a successful adult and speculate that he's learning disabled. You do him no harm. Maybe you're right, maybe you're looking for something that isn't there, in order to fill some emotional need you have. It does no harm to speculate that various successful adults are learning disabled. It is only harmful if you misuse this speculation to build an argument that being labeled as learning disabled is a useful tool for becoming successful later in life. This is not logical.

[Elizabeth Conley]

Remember, your daughter isn't labeled yet. There's no reason to torment her with "reading books that are very systematic in their teaching and used for LD kids."

 

You can and should simply set her free to read books she enjoys. I cannot think of anything pleasanter or more educational. Education does not have to be painful to work.

[Elizabeth Conley]

Handwriting: http://www.hwtears.com/whyitworks

 

Typing: http://www.amazon.com/Encore-12440-SpongeBob-Squarepants-Typing/dp/B000NKPF7U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1243943509&sr=8-1

 

Have fun!

[homefront]

As long as you can pass required test without modification there is no issue with military serves. Dyslexia is not mental illness or psychiatric issue. There is a wealth of knowledge that if your child has dyslexia can help maximize potential. For many kids this means less than one year "therapy."

 

This condition is not a public record. All info is treated like medical records, meaning you have to have the right to access it. In my case this is only me. Just pay attention to all the paperwork you have to sign when getting someone tested. I was tested by a PS as a minor, this documentation is sealed (meaning I would need a court order to get a copy of it, legal the government no right to it either). Your child has many rights in regards to this information (most can't be taken advantage until adulthood).

 

Personal I would start with an OT that has a background of working with dyslexia and sensor issues. In my area a few have certification to diagnosis dyslexia. Everything they look at is broader plus they don't have to give a physic evaluation.

[OneRoomSchoolHouse]

UPDATE

Well, I had the informal meeting with the director for a Sue Barton based learning center. It was kind of a joke, because I knew more than she did. She started taking notes on all the information I brought with me. Ha! The director said that insurance WOULD NOT cover the dyslexia evaluation which would cost me $1200. If dd was diagnosed with dyslexia, she would need to go to the learning center for 1 hour, twice a week at $60/hour. I also proded her and found that they do the "infinity walk" for 15 minutes, 2 other exercises and then the Barton program for probably only 30 minutes. I KNOW I can do this at home, if needed, for a lot less money.

 

As a side note: My dh attended the meeting with me and said that he doesn't think anything is wrong with dd. He is supportive of hsing, but is a very hands-off dad. He was against hsing until a few years ago. Just one more hurddle... He did say that he definately wants dd tested; I think he needs solid evidence of a learning problem.

 

As for the testing, my mom had my 16 yr old brother tested for dyslexia a few months ago and it was all covered by insurance. So, I will call that place and take dd there for testing. It's a 5 hour drive from here, but if it saves $1200, then it is worth the trip and a good visit with my mom!